![]() ![]() ![]() OXENFREE II had a pretty long development cycle, originally announced to be released in 2021 then delayed twice until this year. Perhaps unsurprisingly, OXENFREE II: Lost Signals stumbles most when it tries to differentiate itself from the first game. Some of my students, for example, figured out a possible ending in OXENFREE and freaked out (with excitement), and replayed the whole game again. OXENFREE and OXENFREE II both heavily feature player choice, and they deliver a feeling of impact in incredibly rewarding and delightful ways. ![]() These can provide a variety of “side quests” that enrich the world, and also showcase how we have the power to make a positive impact on the world around us in small and big ways. While the majority of the conversations happen between Riley and Jacob, the player can also choose to call other people they meet in their journeys on a walkie-talkie. If OXENFREE is about loss, then OXENFREE II is about regret. These games demonstrate the power of interactive media to communicate significant and worthwhile stories about the human experience. I found myself settling into the conversations with Riley and Jacob, not realizing that hours had passed in real life, as we explored the Camena coast together. This subtle revealing of truths and pains feels natural and earned. The dialogue is so good that I actually taught OXENFREE in a college Fiction class.īoth games ask serious questions about life that are revealed slowly but surely. Conversations flow between locations, and can pick up after getting distracted right where you left off just like a regular chat. Speech bubble options appear above a character’s head, with the option to not respond at all. There is realistic, charming, biting, heart-wrenching writing throughout. OXENFREE II’s greatest strength is the same as the first: its dialogue. They still have the capacity to change, but they are not sure they can, much less if they want to. Riley and Jacob are much more set in their ways. At one point, Riley can plaintively say, “I’m not forty-five!” A few teens they run into keep calling them old. As characters, they are flawed, but likable, just like many real-life adults. They can be kind and gentle with one another, or distant and dismissive, depending on your choices. Riley and Jacob are actually old high school acquaintances, and they can reflect on how they’ve changed. ![]() They have beef with their family, and are starting to wonder at the choices they’ve made along the way. They are dealing with a bunch of spooky stuff because it’s a job. In comparison, OXENFREE II has a much smaller central cast with only two primary characters, Riley and her co-worker Jacob, who are decidedly in their 30s. They do stupid teenager shit, like taking a ferry to wander an empty island at night. They are funny, delightful, spirited, angry, annoying, and afraid. OXENFREE, released in 2016 by Night School, centers on a group of painfully realistically written teenagers. Night School’s sound design is particularly excellent, invoking the Pacific Northwest, dreams, and everyday life all at once. Players move between map spaces, trying to get to the bottom of a spooky mystery. Both adventure games are absolutely beautiful with watercolor-style artwork and well-animated character sprites. It’s hard not to write a review that is directly comparing OXENFREE II to its predecessor at every turn. If you like ghosts and compassionately written alive people, and most of all, if you liked OXENFREE, you will love OXENFREE II which released on July 12 from Night School Studios. It’s Riley’s new boss at her temp job where she’ll be placing transmitters across a coastline to track radio wave anomalies. Then, Riley wakes up at a bus stop, her walkie-talkie buzzing. Scary sounds and half-remembered visions pop up on the screen for a few moments. “Bury me,” the woman whispers, turning, eyes burning posession-red, “where you can’t see water.” She gets to the top of a lighthouse where a crack in time opens up, splitting between 20. She wanders, hands up against the wind, wondering aloud if this is just a dream. OXENFREE II: Lost Signals opens with protagonist Riley waking up on a dock in the middle of a thunderstorm, not remembering where she is or why she’s there. ![]()
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